Everyone needs a haircut yet this seemingly simple act is quite complicated. Not only is everyone's hair texture, head shape, hair direction and hair style preference different, but the common tools available to today's hair stylists are quite limiting. Combs, razors, and scissors are the staples of a hairstylist's arsenal and yet they have remained the same for decades, if not for centuries. A brilliant cut can involve angles that are difficult to replicate, making the goal of a “perfect haircut” very laborious and time consuming. Thus, brilliant haircuts are limited to those who have practiced for years, those who have an innate sense of how it works, and simply to luck of the draw.
Numerous comb designs teach a level or a measuring device permanently attached to or integrated within the structure of the comb. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,879,777 to Miller et al.; U.S. Des. No. 428,529 to Lucero; U.S. Des. No. 428,669 to Lucero; U.S. Des. No. 406,391 to Lucero; U.S. Des. No. 405,228 to Lucero; U.S. 405,227 to Lucero; U.S. Des. No. 283,057 to Rogers U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,745 to McGuffey. However, these levels are neither removable nor adjustable, meaning they are limited to measuring one particular angle.
Improvements have been made to combs to measure more than one angle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,998 to Furco and U.S. Publ. No. 2008/0078418 to Ghoorchian both teach using more than one level on one comb in order to provide measurement of different angles. However, each individual level is permanently affixed to the comb and can only measure one angle. Since a person's head is a three dimensional object, it is desirous to have a comb capable of measuring a comb's change of position in all three dimensions (pitch, yaw, and roll; see FIG. 12). Furthermore, it is desirous to have a level that is adjustable, allowing for measurement of more than one angle.
Others have taken the three dimensional aspect of a head into consideration. U.S. Publ. No. 2007/0023063 to Deuel, for example, teaches a comb having a ball level. While the ball level provides for measuring of angles in more than one direction, it is hard to manipulate the ball level and does not provide accurate and consistent readings. U.S. Publ. No. 2005/0011531 to Gers and U.S. Publ. No. 2008/0060666 to Bandonis teach placing a level perpendicular to the comb's length, allowing for measurement of the roll angle (see FIG. 12) when the comb is held horizontally. Bandonis also teaches using a rotatable (i.e. adjustable) level and placing multiple levels on one comb. While Bandonis provides a system for measuring a comb's change of position in different dimensional directions (pitch, yaw, and roll), the levels are not removable and thus lack user customization. Further, Bandonis fails to provide measurement of all three dimensional directions for any given orientation of the comb.
Thus, there still exists a need for a comb system in which different angles can be measured quickly and easily to facilitate a specific angled haircut. There also exists a need for a removable and adjustable apparatus which can be attached to a comb and adjusted to measure different angles. Finally, there still exists a need for a comb system capable of measuring all three dimensional directions for any given orientation of the comb with respect to a person's head.
This and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include only commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.